From Naïve to Knowing
by Maureen Anson
Summary: After talking about Quinn with Sam, Joe seeks out the other glee guys for advice with mixed results.


From Naïve to Knowing  
By Maureen Anson

[Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own any characters in this story, they are all owned by Fox. No money is being made.]

'"You're going to have to decide if you want to get closer to God or closer to her,"' Sam's words kept reverberating in Joe's mind, bouncing around and percolating, growing with each knock around his skull. It made sense, but at the same time…did he have to have sex with Quinn to be with her? The feelings were there, that was certain, but not only did he have reservations about premarital sex, he knew that Quinn was going through a lot right now. She was his first friend at McKinley, meeting her through the God Squad and she was gorgeous, but he had picked up on…gossip? Little tidbits of information that hinted that she had a few challenges in her life.

Sam had been helpful to be sure, but….Joe frowned as he slipped his toms on and off while he ate his lunch, well, Joe wasn't sure he understood everything well enough. And Sam had dated Quinn. How recently? Being the new guy, transferring in the middle of the year the way he had, that put him at a serious disadvantage compared to the other kids, being homeschooled only moreso. The longer he was at McKinley and in the glee club, the more he realized that he didn't quite get how the world worked.

Getting up, he switched to a different table, one where some of the other glee guys were seated. "Hey," he said, biting into his apple.

"Hi," they grunted almost unintelligible. Well, Puck and Finn seemed to. Artie had been eating and merely nodded.

"You all know Quinn pretty well," Joe began, then paused at the snickering.

"Oh yeah, we know Quinn," Puck agreed with a smile. "And we know all about you being all over that. What about it?"

Was it really that obvious, he wondered, or did they all talk? It was disconcerting, regardless. "Yeah," Joe agreed with a nod, "I talked to Sam and…he used to date her. And I want to see how things go with her. So…" Joe trailed off, feeling awkard.

"You want tips on how to get up on that," Artie finished with what could only be considered a shit-eating grin. "You came to the right place."

"Wine coolers," Puck stated. "You want in her pants, get her drunk. Works every time."

"No, it worked last time," Finn corrected him with an odd look. Joe wondered what it was he had missed there. "She likes hot tubs," he added.

Artie rolled his eyes, "That was two years ago," he pointed out to those guys, "Finn dated her, Puck…slept with her," he clarified, noticing Joe's look of confusion. While Quinn was a friend of his, they had never dated and that was unlikely to change.

"She's my baby-mama," Puck explained.

Joe blinked, trying to absorb this information. So, Quinn wasn't a virgin and had had a baby. He wasn't so naïve that he didn't know the term. That was a lot to take in. He'd had no idea. This brought on a barrage of questions, but he didn't ask them, holding his tongue.

"Look, Joe," Artie began, munching on a carrot stick, "if you like her, then none of that matters. It's the past. Anyways, all that was before the car accident, remember? That changes everything," he knew from personal experience. "Hot tubs are difficult to get into and out of and wine coolers will mess with her meds. Regardless, I seriously doubt that she's ready for sex yet anyways. And if all you want is to get in her pants, then she doesn't need you anyways. So shove off."

What Artie said made a lot of sense actually. Could he have a relationship with Quinn without sex? That seemed…difficult. She was so pretty. "Then…how?" he asked, a little startled to realize that he was getting serious advice from Artie. Had the guy ever dated anyone? Or had sex? Joe had assumed he hadn't, but Puck and Finn were both agreeing with him, nodding quietly. Curiouser and curiouser.

"Be there for her," he replied, leaning forward a little, "Have fun with her. Push her limits. Don't let her say 'can't.' Make her laugh. It's not all that complicated," he shrugged, "Make her feel pretty. Just…it's not all about the sex sometimes. Don't get me wrong, sex is pretty awesome, but there's a lot about having sex when you're in a wheelchair and after in an accident like hers that takes time to understand and get used to. It takes some experimenting."

"And you've…" Joe looked at Artie feeling as if he was some child suddenly and not the teenager he actually was.

All three boys nodded.

Therefore, Puck, Finn, Sam and Artie had all had sex. And so had Quinn. It was safe to assume Rachel had since she and Finn had been together for about a millennia if everything he had heard was true. He didn't know Mike and Tina really, but it made sense to assume they had too. "Has…everyone in glee?" he asked finally, a little overwhelmed.

Puck shrugged, "Dunno. Has Rory?"

Finn shrugged in response, "Does it matter?"

"We're all sort of incestuous in a way," Artie replied cheerfully, though that was substantially less than reassuring.

Numbly, Joe nodded, processing it all. He knew that statistically most teenagers were sexually active by the time the graduated high school, but realizing that he was quite probably the only virgin in the entire glee club was a little daunting. Maybe it wasn't a big deal to everyone else, but it was to him if only because he had been taught that premarital sex was wrong, that abstaining brought you closer to God and that it proved your devout love for your spouse. Here it was being thrust in his face that his peers clearly did not agree. What Artie said though about not basing a relationship with Quinn on sex made a lot of sense. "So…what do I do? So I don't…embarrass myself?"

Sam arrived in time to hear the last question and sat down with his lunch, popping open the top of his soda. "You mean so you don't get wood," he stated bluntly. The other guy's discomfort was slightly amusing, if it weren't so much like he was a lamb.

Joe nodded.

"Mailman," Finn stated with confidence. They had already had the Beiste problem with this last year and they did not need to repeat it. "Think of something you don't like. Like the time I hit the mailman when I was learning to drive. He was fine, by the way. Just pissed off," understandably. "But it's a total mood-killer."

"Uh…huh," Joe stood, grateful for the advice, but at the same time, overwhelmed. "Thanks, I'll think about it," he said as he left the table, but not before glancing over to the table where Quinn sat with some of the other glee girls.


End file.
